Mobile Devices - Page 51

Apple has released iOS 16.3.1 to the public, an update that doesn't add anything new in terms of features but is instead aimed at fixing problems with old ones.

This latest update's release notes say that it "provides important bug fixes and security updates," but the main one of note is a change related to how iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models handle Crash Detection.

The Crash Detection feature is designed to call for emergency services when someone is involved in a serious car crash - but emergency workers have already complained that it's too keen. They'll hope this update fixes that. Emergency workers around the world have already complained that the iPhones are too quick to call for help, often for no other reason than they fell off someone's dashboard.

The original Apple iPhone presented a revolution for portable phones, ushering in the smartphone era. First released on June 29, 2007, it was Apple's first smartphone with a 320x480 resolution LCD screen and a Samsung 32-bit ARM microprocessor clocked at 412 MHz.

It featured several sensors, too, though, by 2023 standards, it's pretty archaic technology. For example, the camera on the back was 2MP, and it didn't feature a flash. The iconic App Store wasn't introduced until 2008 either, but there's no denying that the original Apple iPhone and Steve Jobs' dream of a portable touchscreen device forever changed the landscape. At the time its competition was the BlackBerry 8800 and whatever the Samsung BlackJack was.

And now a factory-sealed 2007 Apple iPhone is being auctioned off, with a current bid of USD 16,823. That's certainly a lot of money for an old-school iPhone, but with 11 days left on the auction at LCG Auctions, it'll no doubt end up going for a lot more than that. Collecting retro-tech (yeah, the original iPhone is now retro) is big business, and an item like this could go for as much as USD 50,000.

In a growing field that studies the effects of social media use on teenagers and adolescents, the US Surgeon General has given his thoughts on what age is appropriate for children to use social media platforms.

Since social media use hasn't been around very long, or at least in its today's form, where it has been completely adopted by mainstream society, the body of research is still in its early stages. However, there is still some evidence to suggest that allowing children aged approximately 13 to use social media can be detrimental to their development.

One study published in The Lancet that looked at nearly 10,000 children aged between 13 and 16 found that social media itself doesn't cause harm, but frequently using it takes away from other activities that would have a positive impact on mental health, such as exercise and getting consistently good sleep.

According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, no new iPads will launch in 2023. Instead, Apple is focused on releasing a foldable iPad in 2024 with a carbon fiber stand. Kuo also notes that the expected refresh of the iPad mini could also be delayed to early 2024, which could mean nothing new on the iPad front for the next 9-12 months at least.

"There may not be new iPad products in the next 9-12 months (the new iPad mini is more likely to be mass-produced in 1Q24)," Ming-Chi Kuo says (translation via Apple Insider), "I am conservative about iPad shipments in 2023, and the shipments are expected to decline by 10-15% YoY."

"My latest research indicates that the foldable iPad will come with a carbon fiber stand," Kuo adds. "Which would make the stand lighter and more durable."

Broadcom and Qualcomm may be cut out of the iPhone, quite literally and metaphorically, according to recent Apple rumors.

The rumors come from Bloomberg, which got into contact with sources that claim Apple is planning on putting its own in-house wireless chipsets into the iPhone. These chipsets cover cellular, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi connectivity and are expected to release sometime in late 2024 or early 2025. Currently, the company is in development for this new in-house chip and, when ready, will relinquish the dependency on Broadcom and Qualcomm, which currently have chips inside of the iPhone.

Notably, Apple is also rumored to be developing a singular design chipset that will encompass Bluetooth, cellular and Wi-Fi connectivity. This chipset, when completed, will allow Apple to streamline production and save extremely valuable space within the iPhone chassis. More notably, Qualcomm said back in November last year that it would be expecting "minimal contribution" from Apple throughout fiscal 2025, but it will be providing cellular components for iPhone 2023 models.

The U.S. government has moved against allowing new telecommunications equipment from several Chinese tech giants to enter the United States over national security concerns.

The announcement comes from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which said on Friday that it had blocked the sale or import of equipment made by Huawei Technologies, ZTE, surveillance equipment maker Dahua Technology, video surveillance firm Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology and telecommunications firm Hytera Communications. These official bans are the latest in the U.S. government's moves to protect Americans from unwanted spying by Chinese tech giants.

In other news, a cryptocurrency project attempted to pull off a publicity stunt when they created a $600,000, 30-foot-long, 12,000-pound statue of Elon Musk's head on a goat's body straddling a rocket. Unfortunately for the crypto team, the stunt didn't work, as it didn't even get on the radar of Musk. More on that story below.

Apple was originally meant to be sourcing its 128-bit 3D NAND flash memory from Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) -- a Chinese supplier -- but because of the US trade ban with China, the company can't do that and now needs to work with Samsung to get memory chips into the iPhone.

The iPhones sold in China would've used the Chinese-supplied memory chips, with Apple reportedly prepared to source around 40% of all of its iPhone memory chips from YMTC, but not anymore according to sources at DigiTimes. The site reports that Apple is now working with Samsung -- which is one of the largest memory manufacturers in the world -- to make around 40% of its iPhone memory chip orders.

Samsung is already working with Apple to supply displays for the current-gen iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max smartphones, and with new contracts for memory chips, Apple's main competitor is putting more and more of its technology into its competitors' smartphones.

Apple will be finally moving away from the Lightning connector on future-gen iPhones, with the company confirming it will buck to European regulators, which have decided to push all smartphones to use USB-C ports for charging in the next 2 years.

There are new EU laws that require all smartphones sold starting autumn 2024 will be forced to use USB-C connectivity for their charging ports, while Android-based smartphones are fine, Apple is being forced to shift from Lightning to USB-C connectivity.

Apple isn't a stranger to its products having USB-C connectivity, where the 12-inch MacBook back in 2015 moved over to USB-C, while the iPad started its move from Lightning to USB-C a few years ago back in 2018. Apple isn't wanting to use USB-C connectivity on its iPhones, with the company explaining: "strict regulation mandating just one type of connector stifles innovation rather than encouraging it, which in turn will harm consumers in Europe and around the world".

Mark Zuckerberg has taken to his personal Instagram account to throw some shade at Apple and its iMessage messaging service.

This isn't the first time jabs have been thrown by Zuckerberg toward Apple, and Apple has even retaliated, giving onlookers the perception that there is a degree of rivalry erupting between the two goliath companies. The most recent swing was by Zuckerberg, who took to his Instagram account on October 17 to tout WhatsApp being a superior alternative to Apple's iMessage, writing that it's far more private and secure than Apple's messaging service as it features end-to-end encryption that works across iPhones and Android devices.

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs first revealed the iPhone back in 2007 at MacWorld San Francisco, and only a few months after the reveal it released for $499/$599.

Jobs showcased the iPhone on January 9 2007 and announced that it would come in two version, an 4GB model and a 8GB model, hence the aforementioned price variation. The original iPhone debuted the now standardized innovative touchscreen, along with a 2-megapixel camera and a web browser, with Jobs describing the device as an "iPod, a phone, and an internet communicator" all-in-one simple device.

Following its public release it quickly became Apple's most successful product, while also causing massive ripple effects that are even seen to this day throughout the smartphone industry. Furthermore, Time Magazine named the original iPhone as the Time Magazine Invention of the Year in 2007. Being a relic of the technology industry, an original iPhone in the unsealed iconic packaging would certainly be of interest to an Apple fan, and it was, selling for nearly $40,000 to one lucky bidder.

A group of individuals that picked up Apple's latest flagship phone is reporting experiencing a glitch with their rear camera.

Apple's newest iPhone, the iPhone 14 Pro, has been released and with a selection of new features such as the dynamic island, screen brightness, and camera upgrades, is reports of an unwanted feature that occurs when users attempt to use the camera in certain apps. YouTuber Luke Miani shared a video of his iPhone Pro Max in the Snapchat app, and the camera appears to be shaking while also making a rattling noise. In the video, you can hear Miani say that "you can see it moving," referencing the camera lens on the back of the phone.

In a YouTube video, Miani said that he went back to the Apple store to report the issue and exchanged his defective phone for a new one. However, Miani hasn't been alone, as technology content creator Naaackers reported finding "the first iPhone 14 Pro Max bug" while using TikTok. The issue was the same as Miani, screen shaking accompanied by an unsettling crackling coming from the camera region of the phone.

Apple has recently revealed the new iPhone 14, and according to Apple's "Far Out" event presentation, the new device supports satellite connectivity for the first time.

The iPhone 14 is the very first Apple product to support satellite connectivity, and the company is marketing the connectivity as an emergency feature that is only meant to be used in dire situations. Apple says the feature isn't designed to replace cellular connectivity, but that hasn't stopped speculative questions such as a possible partnership between SpaceX and its Starlink satellite internet service and Apple.

Twitter user Zack tweeted, tagging SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on his personal Twitter account, and said that he was hopeful that Apple eventually partners with SpaceX to assist this new emergency SOS feature, which sparked a reply from Musk, who confirmed that SpaceX has had "promising" conversations with Apple about Starlink connectivity. The SpaceX CEO also praised Apple's iPhone team, describing them as "super smart".

Following the reveal of the iPhone 14, Apple CEO Tim Cook has responded to questions about fixing the texting problem between Android devices and iPhones.

The Verge has reported that Cook was asked about the current situation between Android and iPhone when it comes to text messages coming through in lower quality. The question is in regards to Apple refusing to adopt Rich Communication Services (RCS), which is essentially an upgraded SMS communication protocol that enables high-quality multimedia files to be sent/received, read receipts, typing indicators as well as texting over Wi-Fi between Android and Apple devices.

There has been a long-standing debate between Apple and Android over its decision to avoid RCS, largely stemming from the blue versus green text bubble war. Apple adopting RCS would end the war of the blue and green bubbles, and make texting between both services much more seamless for all users. For these reasons and more individuals have expressed that Apple is intentionally making texting non-iPhone mobile phones difficult to retain users in its own messaging service, iMessage.

Apple is expected to launch its iPhone 14 on September 7 at its 'Far Out' event, but after that is released the next-gen iPhone 15 Pro will arrive next year and will be the "most powerful 2023 phone" thanks to its next-gen 3nm chip inside made by TSMC.

Right now we have a limitation of 5nm and 4nm chips inside of smartphones, with Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 8 Gen2 being made on TSMC's 4nm process node, and Apple's new A16 being made on TSMC's 5nm process node. But in 2023, Apple is waiting for the stars to align for TSMC to have its N3 enhanced "N3E" mode ready for its nextr-gen A17 chipset to be made on TSMC's wicked new 3nm process node.

TSMC's new 3nm process node + Apple A17 + iPhone 15 Pro = most powerful smartphone of 2023? I guess we'll have to wait and see, but TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) held its Q2 earnings call recently, with TSMC CEO C. C. Wei said: "N3E will further extend our N3 family with enhanced performance, power and yield. We observed a high level of customer engagement at N3E, and volume production is scheduled for around one year after N3".

Apple has now officially confirmed it is hosting an event on September 7, where we'll be introduced to the new iPhone 14 family of smartphones, and I'm sure much more.

The company has announced its new "Far Out" event for September 7 at 10AM PST, at the Steve Jobs Theatre on Apple Park in Cupertino, California. Apple being Apple, there isn't much more meat on the bone here in terms of news or announcements... but we know that the month of September = is new iPhone month.

As for the new iPhone 14, Apple is expected to nix the smaller 5.4-inch model when it comes to the new iPhone 14, upgrading to a larger standard 6.1-inch display on the regular iPhone 14, and a larger 6.7-inch display on the iPhone 14 Pro.

Apple is on the cusp of releasing its new iOS 16 iPhone software which is expected to bring new features to users.

Apple users will rejoice at the thought of being able to edit and unsend messages on iMessage, and that will soon become a reality with the coming iOS 15 iPhone software update. Reports indicate that users will be able to hold down sent messages to receive an options menu, and inside of this menu, there will be the "edit" option along with the "unsend" option.

The new feature has already been rolled out to the public beta, which is available to download right now if you choose to opt-in. If you don't opt-in to receive the beta, you will have to wait until sometime in September to receive the feature. Additionally, you will need an iPhone released in 2017 or later to use it. Once the update has been downloaded, whether you have opted into the beta or waited until the full release, here's what you'll need to know to use the new features.

Apple is expected to unveil its new iPhone 14 family of smartphones in September, with news that the iPhone 14 launch event will kick off on September 7.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman is reporting that Apple will announce the new iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro smartphones on September 7, alongside the new Apple Watch Series 8 wearable. Apple is expected to nix the smaller 5.4-inch model iPhone 14, upgrading to a larger standard 6.1-inch display on the regular iPhone 14, and a larger 6.7-inch display on the iPhone 14 Pro.

Inside, we're expecting Apple to use the same A16 chip inside of the higher-end iPhone 14 Pro, while the regular iPhone 14 will use the A15 chip that is inside of the iPhone 13. The higher-end iPhone 14 Pro will also have some big camera upgrades: a new "pill-shaped" hole for the FaceID sensors, and a hole-punch-sized space for the camera.

Qualcomm and TSMC look to absolutely dominate the flagship Android smartphone market in 2023, where we are expecting all 2023 premium Android-powered smartphones to feature a Snapdragon 8 Gen2 chip made by TSMC.

Leaker "Ice Universe" tweeted criticisms of Samsung's chip fabrication technology, calling it a "disastrous experience" and so he should: it's that bad Samsung is ditching its in-house Exynos SoCs to use Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen2 in their next-gen Galaxy S23 smartphones in 2023.

Normally we'd see Samsung split its Galaxy smartphones into two camps: one market with in-house Samsung Exynos SoCs and other markets with Qualcomm Snapdragon SoCs. But in 2023, all roads lead to Qualcomm and its next-gen Snapdragon 8 Gen2 SoC made on TSMC's next-gen 4nm process node.

XMG has formally announced its new NEO 17 and NEO 15 gaming laptops, packing the flagship AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX processor, and NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 3080 Ti GPU.

The new XMG NEO 17 gaming laptop features an interesting 16:10 aspect ratio display with a native 2560 x 1600 resolution, CHERRY's MX ULP Tactile switches on the keyboard, the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX processor, and up to NVIDIA's fastest GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile GPU.

Inside, the XMG NEO 17 gaming laptop has the 8-core, 16-thread Ryzen 9 6900HX processor, and 3 x GPU choices from NVIDIA: the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, GeForce RTX 3080, and GeForce RTX 3070 Ti. The flagship NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile GPU has 16GB of GDDR6 memory and a 175W TGP (split into 150W + 25W through Dynamic Boost 2.0 technology) but can be run at full power permanently, for the ultimate in performance, all the time.

Google has taken to its website to take another swing at Apple over its text messaging and how videos appear blurry when sent from an Android device to an iPhone.

Google has swung at Apple over what it calls the company's failure to improve the user experience between iOS and Android users, citing the infamous down-scaling of multimedia sent from an Android device to an iOS, in particular, videos. This isn't the first time Google has openly come after Apple for its lack of updates between the two platforms, as the Android team released an "unofficial lyric" to the recently released Drake song "Texts Go Green".

Google is pushing for Apple to adopt what it calls the "modern industry standard" for text messaging - Rich Communication Services (RCS). Google states that the problem between Android and iPhone texting are because "Apple refuses to adopt modern texting standards when people with iPhones and Android phones text each other", per Google's website. Google calls for Apple to fix the green and blue bubbles as well as "texting for everyone".